Solidago caesia

Solidago caesia, commonly called Blue-Stemmed Goldenrod or Wreath Goldenrod, is a native woodland perennial which occurs in forests, woodland borders and drier stream edges. It typically grows 1.5-3' tall on arching, glabrous, wiry, greenish-purple stems which are covered with a silvery-white waxy bloom that can be rubbed off. As in all goldenrods, the tiny, bright yellow, daisy-like flowers typically with 3-4 rays per head appear in a series of loose clusters in the leaf axils along the length of the stems, with the terminal clusters being the largest. A late summer to fall bloomer. Lance-shaped, medium green leaves (2-5" long) are toothed, tapered and sharply pointed. Goldenrods have been wrongfully accused of causing hay fever which is actually an allergic reaction to wind-borne pollen from other plants such as ragweed. The plants are attractive to bees and butterflies.

Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. This is a woodland species that tolerates poor, dry soils and light shade, but performs well in full sun. This species is primarily clump-forming and does not spread aggressively as do some of the other goldenrod species and hybrids.

Solidago comes from the Latin words solidus meaning whole and ago meaning to make, in reference to the medicinal healing properties of some species. Caesia means light blue.

This is a tidy goldenrod for native plant gardens, open woodland gardens, borders, cottage gardens, meadows or butterfly gardens.

Information adpted from: Missouri Botanical Garden